


By Sea, She Goes

by beepboopwriting



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Other, Sad, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-26 02:52:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9858803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beepboopwriting/pseuds/beepboopwriting
Summary: Lillie was like a daughter to Burnet, and no mother ever wants to see their child go.





	

**Author's Note:**

> LOL SO YOU REMEMBER THAT LINE AT THE END OF THE GAME WHERE KUKUI SAYS BURNET IS TOO SAD TO WATCH LILLIE LEAVE? well this is before that scene happens so :-) plus i'm using the same names for Burnet and Kukui as I did in my last story, so!
> 
> yeah lol I suck at writing full chapter stories but when I get a story idea I WRITE so hope all u guys are chill with a heck of a lot of one-shots

Burnet climbed up the ladder to the loft and sat on its floor in silence. The couch was still as blue, the drawers were perfectly organized, and the pink journal Lillie had always written in was sitting on the desk with its lock shut tight. It felt as if it was normal. At any moment, she could hear the sound of the door opening and hearing the greetings of both Kukui and Lillie as they returned from whatever adventure they had that day.

Today wasn’t going to be a day where she would hear that, however, and neither was tomorrow, nor the day after that. She would continue to hear the greetings of her husband, but they wouldn’t be accompanied with Lillie’s.

 

Kanto. That’s where Lillie was headed off to tonight, possibly to never return.

 

Burnet had only heard stories of Kanto from her husband, so she wasn’t an expert on the region, but she didn’t despise it. Only now did she feel resentment for it, as that’s where her Lillie was traveling to, and for an awful reason. Lillie was leaving for Kanto to search for a cure for her mother. _Her god-awful mother_ , Burnet thought as a scowl found a way to her face. Her teeth were gritted as the anger she felt for Lusamine found a way to raise her entire body temperature and bring tears to her eyes.

 

* * *

Lillie wept onto Kukui’s shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her and had Burnet calmly pat the girl’s back (despite the woman being anything _but_ calm).

“I’m so sorry.” Lillie muttered as she gently raised her head and wiped away her tears. “I never meant to get so worked up about my mother again, it’s jus-”

“Lillie, you don’t have to apologize, and you have every right to be worked up about this.” Kukui interrupted as he stood up to get Lillie some tissues to wipe her tears with. “Of course you have every right to be more than worked up about this!” Burnet continued, inching closer to Lillie in order to envelop her in her arms. “Lillie, this ‘mother’ you talk about isn’t a mother. She’s a sorry excuse for a person who neglected you, controlled you, and refuses to ever see the mistakes of her ways.” Her voice rose in volume as she continued. “It was right of you to run away from her, and take Nebby with you. God, if I could see this woman who treated you this wa-”

“Honey, relax.” Kukui interfered his wife’s now bitter words and sat back down on the couch and held the tissues out for Lillie. “Now, listen, Lillie.” The blonde girl dabbed her eyes with the tissue and nodded. “She’s not here anymore. Your mother isn’t here anymore. We’re here. You’re here with us. You aren’t with your mother. You aren’t where she hurt you.” Kukui repeated his last sentence as he and Burnet slowly wrapped their arms around Lillie. Lillie sniffled a bit, but soon enough regulated her breath and quietly dozed off. With the sound of her breathing, the two professors gently kissed Lillie’s forehead as a good night, and the two decided to head off to bed themselves.

 

* * *

That memory was the one playing over and over in Burnet’s mind as the tears from her eyes fell onto the floor of the loft. Usually, her tears were quiet, but today they weren’t. Today, her cries were loud and scratchy, the tears like a leaky faucet.  As if on cue, Kukui walked through the door of the lab.

“Hey, I-Amber?” he started his usual hello, but that was gone as soon as he heard the cries coming from the loft.

“Amber?” he said again as he dropped off his bag on the floor and climbed the ladder to where his wife was sitting. Burnet turned around to see him, and the floodgates opened wider. She allowed herself to be embraced by Kukui, as being in his arms always calmed her down. The two sat there for a second huddled together as Burnet let out the feelings she so desperately needed to. About another two minutes passed before the cries turned into quieter sobs, which turned into no sound at all.

“Amber? Amber, what’s wrong?” Kukui asked again as he caressed his wife’s bright hair.

“I don’t want her to go. Her mother...to Kanto...I don’t want it.” Burnet replied in a hoarse voice, getting up from Kukui’s arms to stare directly into his eyes. “Lillie. I don’t...I don’t want her gone.” she continued in her quivering voice. Kukui’s expression turned from worry to understanding.

“I know. None of us do. None of us want her to go.”

“She can’t, Makoa. With her mother? That excuse for a woman? Do you know what she _did_ to Lillie? You know what she did to that sweet little girl? She ABUSED her, Makoa. Abused.” Burnet responded with the ferocity she had been harboring since she heard the news. Kukui nodded, but continued to speak.

“Amber. She knows what she has to do. She has to cure her mother.”

“Cure her? I think her sickness can’t be healed, Makoa! I don’t think it can! Lusamine already did her damage and there’s no way she can fix it now!”

“Amber, listen, Lusamine was poisoned. She’s ill, she needs to find a cure and Lillie wants to heal her-”

“I still don’t want Lillie going with her! I don’t!” Burnet was on the verge of screaming; her voice was heightened and her tears were returning. “Do you not remember the day Lillie cried to us about her mother?” Her last statement was a deafening scream. Seeing the fear in her husband’s eyes and feeling the pain of her throat, Burnet quieted down for her next choice words. Her stories were so...troubling and her voice trembled...she doesn’t deserve to go through that again. She can’t.” Burnet finished up her statements and immediately fell victim to crying once more. Kukui yet again embraced Burnet in his arms in an attempt to calm her down.

“Shhh...shhh. I know. I don’t want Lillie to go. None of us do, but this is what she wants to do. She wants to help her mother realize her mistakes. She wants to make things better. She wants this, Amber.” He reasoned as he rubbed up and down Burnet’s back lovingly.

“I’m gonna miss her. It feels like we’ve known her forever. I...I love Lillie so much. We loved her like a daughter, and I’m going to miss her so much. I don’t want our Lillie to leave.” Burnet responded. Kukui nodded and lifted up Burnet’s face to quickly land a kiss on her.

“Lillie doesn’t just feel like a daughter to me...I’d consider her my daughter, in a way. We both would. But... she wants to leave. She may be far away and she may be with the one who we hate so much, but...Lillie is growing up. We can’t deny her of that, Amber.” Burnet stayed silent as she landed back on Kukui’s shoulder, her hand intertwined in his. She thought over the words carefully.

_She’s growing up. I...I…_

“...I have to let her grow up. But it won’t be easy.” Burnet finished her thought aloud. Kukui smiled. “I never said it was going to be. For either of us.” He responded.The two professors then sat in silence in the loft, hands held and emotions revealed. The two stayed like this for a while longer before Kukui let go of Burnet’s hand and looked at her.

“Lillie’s about to be going. Do you want to say one last goodbye before she heads off to Kanto?” he asked. Burnet looked up at him, and shook her head.

“I’d love to, but I wouldn’t make it. You saw how much of a wreck I was here, who knows how upset I’ll be when I see our Lillie go?” she answered, her voice quivering.

“I understand, and I’m sure she will too.” Kukui nodded and kissed his wife’s hand before climbing down the ladder and walking towards the door. “Guess I’m off, then. I’ll be back in about an hour, and we can talk some more. Relax, cry some more if you need to, and as soon as I get back, you’re free to cry on my shoulder instead. Deal?” he asked as he opened the door.

“Deal.” Burnet answered.

“Good. I’ll be back. I love you.” Kukui smiled before he walked out the door.

Burnet sat alone as she did before, her memories with Lillie buzzing through her mind. She sat in the loft- wait...she had something to tell Kukui before he left! With full intent of telling him before he got too far, she stepped down one rung on the ladder and hopped off onto the floor, running to the door, opening it and yelling her husband’s name as loudly as she could.

“Amber? Something wrong?” Kukui turned around quickly to answer.

“Nothing, I just want you tell Lillie one thing, and that if she ever wants to come back to our loft again, it’s hers to stay in indefinitely.” Burnet’s eyes closed as she said this, as if she were thinking of the time Lillie did return to them to visit.

“Ah, 10-4. I’ll make sure to tell her that sentiment is from both of us. Anything else?”

“No. Be safe on your way there, I love you...and if you get the chance, tell Lillie I love her too.” Kukui nodded as he waved goodbye to Burnet with a bittersweet smile on his face. Burnet waved back, their shared bittersweet tones dwelling over the entirety of Melemele. Soon closing the door, Burnet turned back to see a framed picture of her, her husband, Lillie and her mischievous Nebby on the chest of drawers nearest the door. She smiled at the picture of them all, and it was a reminder of the memories the 3 of them would always share. No matter where Lillie was, no matter who she was with, no matter any other predicament she would find herself in, Burnet would always be there to nurture and inspire her. Mothers must always look after their daughters, after all.

 


End file.
